“I hate exams, they are so boring!” My son grumbles as he studies, but I do not succumb to his tactics like ‘Can I please watch TV mommy? I love you please let me’. He has an unending list of excuses to avoid studying for exams. At times he is sleepy and at times he doesn’t feel well. Pheww kids today!
Every morning he clutches the blanket and doesn’t let me wake him up. After all the morning battles that I faced, I decided that instead of pushing him to study, I should do something that would make exams fun for him. I did and I was successful!
The first and most important thing is to get the whole family in the ‘exam mode’! A child doesn’t like doing anything alone, he gets attracted only when he sees everyone is into it! Think of how a child yearns to help you when he sees you working. Similarly, create an atmosphere which has the ’act of studying’ at its centre. Start reading a book, or a newspaper or you might just want to exercise your writing skills when you are around your child. If you have more than one child, then be very diligent about what the other one is doing. Do not make one child watch TV and simultaneously confine the other one in a room with books, because he will never study this way!
Secondly, the biggest parenting mistake is to keep the child away from games and entertainment during exams. Ever thought of working the other way round, where you can actually include games in the schedule so the child is not bored by only studies all day long! Playing isn’t really a distraction, while playing children have a great potential to absorb and learn new things. You can play spelling games, numbers games, do speed counting or ask random ‘what happens next in the story’ questions. Such games foster their learning and their lessons become much more interesting!
You can even go for ‘pretend play’ which by the way isn’t a mere game but indeed an important element in a child’s development. Parents feel scared when their child takes up the role of a doctor and starts treating a doll. Relax, your child isn’t crazy, this is just a part of growing. This game has the potential to develop a child’s skill to tackle situations, increase emotional intelligence and creativity. Remember, how we learnt some major kitchen rules while playing Ghar-Ghar. Similarly, I and my husband used ‘pretend play’ to explain the story of Akbar and Birbal to our son, which is now one of his favourites.
If your child is reading a story which doesn’t bind his interest then you can simply search for that particular story online and find a colourful and compelling alternative. Technology has made our life much easier, everything is just a click away! It is quick, powerful and also affordable. The only disturbing thing about technology is its free accessibility which can be appalling. However, we must understand that this is not a problem without a solution!
Even when he plays, I know he is learning something useful out of it!
Some months ago,I and my husband started looking for apps and devices to enhance the learning experience of our child. In this process, we learnt about Lenovo’s CG Slate and bought it. I thought this interactive NCERT mapped tablet will appeal to my child and solve his problem of learning and playing simultaneously.My son now studies without any reluctance. Well, this fun learning tablet has turned out to be one of the greatest purchase I have made. He comes running to me every now and then with new-learned concepts. He has got animated videos,stories, enjoyable games and all the cartoons which he adores. Even when he plays, I know he is learning something useful out of it!
Lastly, I would share how I got my child to study in just two minutes. My son idolises his favourite cartoon character Chhota Bheem, when I told him that Chhota bheem also gave exams and this is the reason he is so strong, he was awestruck! Seeing me smirk he said, “Mom, stop joking!” I saw him going back to his room. He picked up his book and silently started studying. So you see my trick worked ;)
Now, exams are fun for us, GOOD BYE exam blues!
Learning can be fun and interesting with Lenovo's CG Slate- The smartest Learning Solution.
